This Sunday night, Kolkata Knight Riders met Kings XI Punjab in the Final of Indian Premier League 2014. The world saw a rising star Wridhiman Saha score a brilliant century – first one in the IPL Finals. This was also the first T20 century by an Indian Wicket-Keeper in T20s. Unfortunately, Kings XI bowlers could not stop Manish Pandey whose 94 saw Kolkata chasing 200 with the loss of 7 wickets and lifting the Gold twice in three years.
Taking an inspiration from Saha’s brilliant century but in a losing cause and that too in a tournament final, here is a list of Top 5 ODI centuries in tournament finals that despite a good effort couldn’t win the Trophy for their team.
5. Bruce Edgar 102* vs Australia (Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, 1981):
It was the 3rd Final of the World Series between Australia, India and New Zealand. The score-line was level at 1-1. Australia batted first at the MCG and posted 235 for four. Although Wright and Edgar gave New Zealand another excellent start, putting on 85 in 24 overs, and runs continued to come at a rate which made a New Zealand victory possible, such a result always seemed just against the odds. Edgar, with a splendid hundred to his name, was not out at the end. After some good blows by Parker, Trevor Chappell came on to bowl the last over with 15 still needed and four wickets left. Hadlee straight drove the first ball for 4 and was lbw to the second. Smith then hit two 2s before being bowled, swinging at the fifth ball, leaving New Zealand with 6 to tie off the now infamous underarm delivery.
It was the first time a century was scored in a losing cause in a tournament final.
4. Saurav Ganguly 117 vs New Zealand (ICC Knock-Out Cup, 2000):
Cairns, returning bravely from a knee injury, won the match with an inspirational century that resuscitated a failing run-chase and carried New Zealand to one of their proudest moments. They certainly had to win this one the hard way, after Ganguly and Tendulkar had opened with 141 in just 26.3 overs. However, Tendulkar was stranded by a bad call and, while Ganguly carried on to his second successive hundred, 135 from the final 25 overs represented diminishing returns. Trusting in their deep batting order, New Zealand was aggressive from the start. But when Twose fell 19 runs short of a sixth consecutive half-century, and McMillan followed, the score was an unconvincing 132 for five. It was now that Harris joined Cairns for a cool-headed partnership of 122. Though the required run-rate continued to climb, Cairns refused to be fazed. He hit two sixes, one a glorious straight drive off Kumble into the red clay of the car park in the 47th over, and ultimately the winning run with just two balls remaining.
3. Nasir Hussain 115 & Marcus Trescothik 109 vs India (NatWest Series, 2002):
England’s innings of 325 for five, their fourth-highest in this form of the game, had inspired drama of its own. In his 72nd innings, Hussain reached his first one-day international century, a dogged but scratchy innings, full of miscues and failed reverse sweeps.
When he reached three figures, from 118 balls, he embarked on an impassioned series of gestures to the press box, where several commentators – “ex-players”, Hussain later said – had questioned his position in the batting order. Hussain held up three fingers and gesticulated angrily to the No. 3 on the back of his shirt. It was pure theatre, and almost overshadowed an outstanding display from Trescothik, who added a joyous 185 for the second wicket with Hussain in just 177 balls. Trescothik moved to a 40-ball half-century, his most memorable shot a flick for six over mid-wicket off Zaheer, and motored to his third one-day century in 89 balls with some hammer-on-anvil cover-drives. Flintoff bullied 40 off 32, and England had rewarded Hussain’s decision to make first use of a belter.
Four senior Indian batsmen were all back in the pavilion early in the chase, and only Yuvraj Singh, aged 20, and Mohammad Kaif, 21, stood between England’s bowlers and the tail.
But Yuvraj played some punishing strokes off the back foot, Kaif was all wrists through mid-wicket, and the pair added 121 in less than 18 overs. When Yuvraj top-edged a sweep to short fine leg, Harbhajan helped add a quick 47 with Kaif to take India to the brink, but Flintoff tilted the balance once more with two wickets in the 48th over.
Even so, India needed just 11 runs off 12 balls. Kaif thick-edged Gough to the third-man boundary to reduce the target to two off six, and Zaheer Khan stole the winning runs with three balls remaining courtesy of an overthrow. As England’s players wandered off in a daze, the Indians celebrated in style.
2. Saeed Anwar 140 & Ijaz Ahmed 117 vs India (Silver Jubilee, Independence Cup, 1998):
It was The Independence Cup featuring Bangladesh (as a neutral venue host), India and Pakistan. The spirits both these teams were sky high. Pakistan posted 314, thanks to Saeed Anwar, who scored 140, his 15th one-day international century, from 132 balls, and Ijaz Ahmed, who made 117 in 112, and added 230 – a third-wicket record, six more than Dean Jones and Allan Border for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1984-85. India had to score 315, more than any team had ever made batting second to win a one-day international (Sri Lanka managed 313 to beat Zimbabwe in the 1992 World Cup). Thanks to an early burst from Tendulkar- 41 in 26 balls – and 179-run stand in 30 overs between Ganguly and pinch-hitter Robin Singh; they reached 250 in 38 overs with one wicket down. But in the last ten overs (bad light having trimmed two from each innings), six more wickets fell; Kanitkar hit the winning four with one ball to go.
1. Mahela Jayawardene 103* vs India (ICC World Cup, 2011):
The grandest stage of all – World Cup Final. Sri Lanka meets India to decide who will rule the ODI world for the next four years. Sri Lanka having won the toss decided to bat first. Sri Lanka posted 274/6 in their 50 overs. A brilliant century by Mahela Jayawardene set the tone for it. Jayawardene’s unbeaten innings of 103 was a flawless one. He struck boundaries and rotated the strike with ease, and was supported by Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera in the batting Powerplay.
Indian chase was hindered when they lost Sehwag on the second ball and Tendulkar in the 7th over. But run by run, over by over, minute by minute, India picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and turned the screw on Sri Lanka with a determination that a lesser group of men could not have begun to muster, amid the sure knowledge that several billion countrymen were investing all their hopes in their actions. And though he himself played just a walk-on part in the wider drama, it was Tendulkar who was chaired from the field as the celebrations began in earnest. “He’s carried the burden of our nation for 21 years,” said the youngster Kohli. “It was time to carry him on our shoulders today.”
Twenty-eight years on from the match that transformed the history of world cricket, India recaptured the crown that Kapil Dev and his men first lifted at Lord’s in 1983, and this time they did so in their very own back yard.
Author’s Bio: Israr Ahmed Hashmi is a cricket writer and statistician based in Lahore. He has been following every cricket game since 2006 and writes for CricLens, Cricistan, CricketWorld, CricTracker and blogs for The Express Tribune Blogs Pakistan.